Incredible discoveries

After dealing with many rejections, Robert Langer made an incredible impact with his discoveries. “I kept believing, and friends, family and my mentor Doctor Judah Folkman at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, were very supportive.” He got used to the initial scepticism. “With each of my discoveries, I had to prove its worth. So I did more experiments to prove sceptics wrong. Others repeated my experiments, which helped me prove my point. Discovering scientific breakthroughs and having the scientific community embrace them took many years.”

Looking back on his career, Robert Langer highlights what makes him proudest. “Firstly, the delivery systems in medicine that can deal with molecules. It enables the continuous, controlled release of drugs. Secondly, my work on tissue engineering with Jay Vacanti, that helps create new tissues in organs. Thirdly, all my students, who have gone on to do amazing things. And lastly, creating Moderna, the company discovering the incredible possibilities of messenger RNA therapeutics.”

Robert Langer has some insights to share. “At the start of my career, I applied for research positions but failed to get a faculty job for two reasons. Firstly, the people reviewing my applications did not believe a chemical engineer could do it. Secondly, they did not believe my ideas were scientifically possible. I ended up working at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, where I discovered how I could use chemical engineering to contribute to the medical world. I want to motivate students and researchers not to give up. It might sound cheesy, but keep dreaming big dreams that can change the world and make it a better place. For professors, I would like to add that we should all feel very fortunate that we get to do what we do. It is a wonderful job. Finally, make sure you treat people well! There is a lot of satisfaction in seeing your students succeed.”

As one of the professors at the forefront of medical advances, his attention is spread across many different areas. “There are always pressing issues that deserve our attention. For example, I am working on self-boosting vaccines, to ensure you would never have to return for a new injection. Along similar lines, we are trying to create pills that last for an entire course of treatment, so you will not have to take a pill every day. I think both will become a reality in the future!” He adds that clinical trials determine how quickly a discovery becomes available. “The medical dogma is ‘first, do no harm’. So, we must progress carefully with new treatments, but covid-19 was a great example of how regulatory bodies can move much quicker in crises, due to the pressure to come up with a solution.”
 

Education for the future

The future of science lies in education, says Robert Langer. “The scepticism I faced can partly be resolved through better education, but we have to face the fact that not everyone will like what we do. That is what covid-19 demonstrated as well: even though the treatments and vaccines have well-established scientific roots, there was scepticism. Getting everyone to understand how medicine works would go a long way.”

Robert Langer’s positive outlook on practising science is reflected by what he believes to be the impact of his work. “It has been written by different awards committees that over two billion people were positively affected by our research. As a scientist, you do what you can. And you always try to do better. Receiving this honorary doctorate from Maastricht University is a wonderful appreciation of that work. Students and teachers should be proud to be part of such a distinguished university!”